Cotton-gin



(No Model.)

E. .VA1\I.WII\I`KLEl COTTON GIN.

Patented July 5, 1887.

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EDIVARD VAN VINKLE," OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent No. 366,139, dated July 5,1887'.

Applicaiion'ilcd January 26, 1887. Serial No. 2525.587. (No model.) l.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Belit known that l, EDWARD VAN WINKLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at At lanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, haveinvented a new and useful Cotton-Gin; and I do hereby declare Vthefollowing to be'a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of cotton-ginsknown as saw-girls,"7 and it consists of a roller driven by a belt andpulley, which roller is located in the opening at the top of therell-box, into which the seed cotton is fed, and presses on and drivesthe roll, as and for the purpose hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front view of a cotton-gin,showing my device in position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through theroll-box', on the line of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the systemof belting.

In the figures, like reference-marks refer; ring to like parts in theseveral Views, A is the sawshaft; B, the saws, C, theribs, and l) theroll-box, in which is placed the roll of seed-cotton, the cleaned seedsbeing discharged through the opening c at the bottoni, which roll-box iskept full of seed-cotton by feeding it through the opening f. rlhe rollinpassing these openings will assume about the form shown by the dottedlines d and d', Fig. 2.

G is the front or seed-board of the roll-bor:, and is hinged or pivoted.at g, and adj ustably held by the bolts gl.

II is the curved back side of the roll-box.

K is a roller journaled in the boxes 7c on the heads of the roll-box,and runs in the opening f, and is driven by the belt L from the pulley Mon the idler N. lIhe pulley N is driven by the pulley P on the sawshaft.

S, Fig. 3, is the brush-shaft.

rlhe arrows l, 2, and 3, Fig. 2, show in which direction the saws, theroll, and the `roller K respectively run. Y

In the roll-box of gins as heretofore eenstructed difficulty has beenexperienced in preventing the seed-cotton, especially when the cotton isin a dry or fluffy condition,which is the most desirable condition inwhich to have it, from discharging over thefront of the roll-box at thepoint at which I place the roller K, which trouble is caused by theelastic property of the dry or fiuffy cotton. To obviate this difficultyit has been the practice heretofore to contract inwardly the curvedinner surface of the roll-box marked h, which rc;

suits in an undue friction on the roll at that point, which causes badresults by hindering its free revolution. rlhe roll of seed-cottonshould run at about the saine peripheral speed as the saws;otherwise-that is to say, if the periphery of theV saws runs much fasterthan that of the roll-*the lint will be out, and in being drawn from theroll by the saw-teeth will be lso firmly bent around the teeth that itwill not straighten out in going through the flue of the gin, but willremain in that position and be so pressed into the bale, thus makingwhat is known as nappy77 cotton, and which is the most objectionablecondition in which cotton can be. The pressure at the part marked 7Lwill also sometimes cause the roll to break-that is to say, cease torevolve and collapse at the top-causing the saws to cut and nap thecotton until the roll can be gotten in motion again. It is also a factthat a slowrunning roll will not bring the lint in reach of thesaw-teeth as fast as the teeth can take it. To obviate thesedifficulties, I place the roller K in the opening into which theseed-cotton is fed, as shown, for the purpose of' carrying downwardlyand pressing the seed-cotton intoA the roll-box, thereby preventing itfrom going out at that opening. This roller I make of a sufficient sizeto act as a feeder to the roll-box, by reason of which the gin is aseasily fed through the restricted aperture as otherwise-that is to say,the seed-cotton will, by this roller, be forcibly carried into therollboX. On account of the seed-cotton being forced downwardly I anienabled to make the inside curvature of the rollbox at the point marked7L such as will allow the roll to turn easily and with the leastpossible friction on the roller.

at this point also has the effect of keeping the roll so small indiameter as to prevent friction Y on any part of its periphery. rlhisroller, be-

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'This pressing inwardly of the roll ing driven by a beit, catches thecotton as it is forced into the roll-box, and prevents the accumulationof-seed-cotton at the point marked d in the roll by forcing itdownwardly into the 5 roll and causing the roll to revolve at a regularand desirable speed.

I believe that the roller K may be made of any material and that thesize may be considerably varied without detriment; but at presro ent Iprefer to cover it with wire-cloth and make it of about the proportionshown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters 15 Patent of the United States, isf

In a cotton-gin, the combination, with the saws B, of a roll-boxcomposed of the grid, a seed-board, G, and the curved upper part, h,said box having an opening, f, the driven roller K, placed therein, andmeans for driving 2o said roller, all arranged and operatingsubstantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD VAN WINKLE.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. SHIELDs, W. W. BOYD.

